Nonstop flight route between Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Takamatsu Airport (TAK), Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,944 miles (or 9,566 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Takamatsu Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Takamatsu Airport and Ellsworth Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Takamatsu Airport (TAK):

• In addition to being known as "Takamatsu Airport", other names for TAK include "高松空港" and "Takamatsu Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Okayama Airport (OKJ), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NNW of TAK.
• Because of Takamatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Takamatsu Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Takamatsu Airport (TAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Most flights that arrive and depart from Takamatsu Airport are ANA and Japan Airlines planes.
• The furthest airport from Takamatsu Airport (TAK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Takamatsu Airport (meaning Takamatsu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,050 miles (19,393 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as Air Force military family housing until about 1990.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
• Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• Ellsworth's population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees.
• Air Defense Command activated the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC 31st Air Division.
• In 1986, the base and the 28 BMW made extensive preparations to phase out the aging B-52 fleet and become the second home for the advanced B-1B Lancer.